Call Me Crazy But I Would Like To Give It A Shot!

[Marc Martyn]

Recently, I have been thinking of kicking my fly fishing up a notch. I have been looking into fly fishing for Northern Pike. While going through the fishing reports of some of the area lakes, I realize that Silver Lake in Four Lakes is becoming an excellent Muskie lake. Since Northerns and Muskies are cousins, I started looking into casting for Muskies. I ran across an article published in Wisc. on fly fishing for them. If one of you "seasoned" muskie guys/gals would take a couple of minutes and read over this article and give me your opinion, it would be greatly appreciated. Not knowing the characteristics of the fish, I wouldn't know if it was accurate or not. Here is the link to the article:

http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/tech ... uskie.aspx


Also, what are some other lakes in the Spokane area that are good for Northerns and Muskies.

Thanks,
Marc

[muskie guy]

Mark; Silver Lake would be an excellent place to start. This is actually where I prefer to take any first time muskie angler that fishes with me. Newman lake and Curlew (Ferry Co.) are the other 2 good muskie lakes on the east side. I think that article was really good, but I would say go deeper in the fall not shallower.
Spring is an excellent time to fish Silver, Newman and Curlew. You have fish up shallow using easy to identify cover and the water is nice and clear. It gives you a chance to see more fish and more importantly, how they react to your presentation so you can fine tune it. I have never fly fished for muskies, they are difficult enough for me to catch on my muskie gear, ha ha.
As far as pike go, you probably can't beat the Pend Oreille river. Several miles north, starting at the state line and Newport, is full of slough's and feeder creeks that have excellent pike fishing. Numbers and size. Lake Coeur D'Alene, which has giant pike, and the chain of lakes that feed into Couer D'Alene all have pike. They even have a couple of tournaments each spring. I would talk with fishing guide Jeff Smith, at Fins and Feathers, in Couer D'Alene about timing the pike in Coeur D'Alene. He's a pro at it. I would avoid Lake Fernan, crazy crowds.
Washingtonflyfishing.com has some guys posting about catching tiger's on the fly. And Clay Walker with Pulling the Plug Guide Service books fly fishing clients for tiger's on the Lewis River. 360-241-3095
Hope this helps, and feel free to p.m. me if you want any other info about the east side.

[Marc Martyn]

Muskie Guy-
You know, reading through your fishing reports and your comments on the forum, I realized quickly that you were the gentleman with the answers. Thank you very much for responding.
Many years ago I fished for northerns in the midwest and always loved the fight they gave. It would be fun to go after the northerns and Muskies on a fly.
I have thought about going over to the chain lakes on the CD'A. I have read the Fernan is a trouble spot.
I appreciate the leads.
Over the winter, I am going to surf the web as far as equipment goes, articles, leaders etc. and some fly patterns I can tie up. I am also going to research the characteristics of the fish.
Is there a local Muskie club in Spokane that holds monthly meetings?
I'm getting the feeling that when fishing in the shallows for them, site fishing comes into play, correct?
I will take you up on the PM if I have any questions. Thanks again.o:)

[muskie guy]

Mark-
In May of this year Muskies Inc. Chapter #57, NW Tiger Pac was formed. We had our first meeting in Federal Way. You can find more info at nwtigermuskies.com about our chapter, events and the growing number of members. I beleive that I'm still the only east side member, but there has been a noticable increase in interest in organizing some east side meetings in the last month. I am the east side public relations contact for the chapter. Now that the word has spread around about Washington's first Muskies Inc. chapter I was hoping we could get some east siders together so I could hand out some information and sign-up packets, talk about the board members and just get to know some folks. All of the board members frequently post on our muskie fishing forum here-Bad Esox, KUP, DeadEyeMark, Musky Hunter, Bill G, Morgan Gibson and Don Wittenberger. So everyone is easy to access, and they are all great folks that will be happy to help.
Currently the chapter's monthly meetings (they are scheduled for the 3rd thursday of the month) are being held at the Sportman's Warehouse (one of our sponsors) in Federal Way, Wa. Sept 20 th and Oct. 18 the are the next meetings. Now with more people showing interest in attending the meetings and hold our own I think we can get something going.
It sounds like you've got a good plan too. Depending on which lake your fishing you could definitely sight fish for them, however some guys are using standard lures to get the fish to show themselves and they fallowing up with a fly. Sigh fishing Curlew and Mayfield is amazing.
Check out NWTigermuskies.com, MuskiesInc.com and be prepared for a flood of replies to this posting. All the west sider's are lucky enough to be at the 2nd annual Mayfield muskie tournament this weekend. I'm winning that dang thing next year! I've got the double-top-secret bait!

[phil cogley]

muskie guy,

I tried to email u, but i dont know if it made it. give me a call I would like to talk to u about silver lake.


phil 499 9669

[Marc Martyn]

I bookmarked NWTigermuskies.com and will read the site over. Thanks again. Researching:study: this will be fun, especially when the snow is blowing and it is 15 degrees out.:shaking:
I'll contact you and the others mentioned when questions arise. Your interest in my new interest is appreciated.

[phil cogley]

the fishing should start picking up on silver, I havent been there this month (hunting season). The big fish will be trying to put on weight, fish big lures!

[Rollin with Rolland]

I'm not sure if this thread is up somewhere, i couldn't find it anywhere, but i can be impatient sometimes.... (BTW, i found it)

I was just thinking....flyin for muskies

in my late teens and early twenties i lived in central wisconsin for about five years. while i was there, i got to know the wisconsin river real well. one day i was fishing in late august and had a great day on the water catching smallmouth with bottom bouncers and raps. the next day i read in the local paper that a guy just set the wisconsin state record for muskie(true) for fly fishing on the wisconsin river. It turns out that guy was fishing just a mile upstream of me on the same day, same time of day. I can't find a quick source to back it up, but it is a true story. somewhere around 98-00. anyway...i think it was 40+ pounds. Does anyone in WA fly fish for muskies?? or caught one flyin?? just curious...i know the tigers are "relatively" new to WA, and wondering if this has been explored as a fishery. i'm not a huge fly guy, but i can appreciate it. I think he was using a red feathered streamer of some sort...like long....four or five inches...and he was actually targeting pike/muskie.

how did the adventures work marc??

[Lotech Joe]

R&R,
Did the fly looks anything like this one?

[chironomid_guy]

Rollin W Roland

I havent fished for tigers yet with my fly rod, but I have done very well at Wollaston Lake lodge in Sask fly fishing for Pike. I use a 10 wt rod and a large arbor Loop reel. I tie my onw hooks which are huge (6-8" long). I have a boat box thats full of Pike flies if you'd like a photo?, but make sure you use a steel leader........ I intend to fish Curlew this spring, and will keep everyone posted. TTFN

Cheers the chironomid guy

[PDXFisher]

I will be headed to Minnesota for a month in June and will be taking my fly rod again. I was planning on hitting rivers since it seems it would be much easier to target Esox in a river than a lake. I think if you can see them, then a fly rod is as good an option, or even better option than traditional gear. If you can't sight cast for them, I think it's much worse. The exception would be smaller rivers and sloughs where you can narrow down where they will hide based on your ability to read the water. I would love any instruction as to where to fish the Wisconsin River, as I may make a trip that direction at some point.

It's funny, I've actually been having an email correspondence with Barry Reynolds on this very subject today. If you go to his website and submit a question, he'll answer. Very helpful guy.

If you're ever in Calgary and the Bow is blown out, consider going out with Josh Nugent for Pike on the fly.

http://www.bowrivercanada.com/

I did last May and had two of the most fun days of fly fishing ever. I think it was more fun than the Bahamas. Truth be told, I didn't even really want to fish the Bow after I heard there were Pike around. Josh may be young, but he's incredibly smart and did his master's thesis on tracking the eye movements and focus of professional fly casters. Very interesting stuff, he can teach you a ton. He just backed his Clackacraft into a backeddy of the Bow in the SikSika Reserve and rowed my butt around for two days while I cast to very aggressive Pike. Caught about 60. He makes his own "toothy critter" type leaders out of tyger wire that I bought 10 of before I left. Here are some pics from those two days:

http://www.skylab.org/~derek/fishing/pike/

Fortunately or unfortunately, that trip got my confidence *way* up for fly fishing in Minnesota. I was duly humbled when I got there. That's when I learned that flies are the worst search method available on Lakes. If you have a small lake that you can narrow down their location in, then by all means go for it! When I hear any of you on hear say that you're seeing them in the shallows out East, I will make the drive up there (my mother lives in Springdale and I need to visit her anyway) and join you! If someone wants to show me where to fish for Pike on the Pend O'Reille, I'll pay for gas and food!

Derek

[Rollin with Rolland]

R&R,
Did the fly looks anything like this one?

i'm not exactly sure...i never actually saw the fly he used, i just read a description in the newspaper (and it was awhile ago)

that sure looks like a beauty to me...but i'm sure you'll never catch anything on that one, you better give it to me!

does WA recognize line class records??

PDX-where in minnesota?? i know the guy (JOSH STEVENS) who has the current minnesota tiger muskie record, he runs a pretty good little outfit i heard. i may be able to help with some general info on bodies of water, if you have any ideas yet (i have lived and fished their quite a bit)

[PDXFisher]

PDX-where in minnesota?? i know the guy (JOSH STEVENS) who has the current minnesota tiger muskie record, he runs a pretty good little outfit i heard. i may be able to help with some general info on bodies of water, if you have any ideas yet (i have lived and fished their quite a bit)

Heh, I've been to more bodies of water for Muskies in Minnesota than most natives at this point . My girlfriend is from Watertown and in the last few years I've been going there twice a summer to fish. People don't seem to want to drive more than 30 minutes to fish, so they don't fish a great number of lakes other than the big destination lakes like Mille Lacs and Leech. So far I've fished for Muskies on:

Independence
Waconia
Minnetonka
Rebecca
Lobster
Alexander
Shamineau
Mantrap
Cass
Big
Plantagenet
Mille Lacs

Since I bought a bigger boat for this trip (we were stuck with a 14' backtroller until a few weeks ago, now we have a 17.5' Lund), we will be hitting some bigger water this time. Lakes I definitely plan to hit in June:

Bemidji
Big
Plantagenet
Leech
Mille Lacs
Mantrap
Little Wolf
Elk
maybe Lake of the Woods NW Angle (family has cabin there)
maybe Hayward area lakes in Wisconsin (family has cabin on Shell Lake)
I know I will end up on Waconia and Independence again, will try to avoid Tonka.

I also really want to get on some rivers, and that's where I need the most help! I'm used to walking the banks of the Metolius and Deschutes and am looking for a similar type of access to Muskie rivers in Minnesota (or Wisconsin).

I absolutely adore the Bemidji area lakes and love Mantrap down south by Park Rapids. Little Wolf is good early season and Elk is crystal clear, so it should be fun with the fly rod.

I've already been out with three guides in Minnesota and I think I'm done with that now. I'd only do it to learn a big body of water like Leech, and most likely not until fall. I'm supposed to meet up with Chad Cain on Leech before I leave while he's pre-fishing.

[Don Wittenberger]

I caught my first legal from Big Mantrap Lake. Lovely lake with lots of coves, channels, reed and lily pad beds, underwater humps and other structure. Although it has resorts and houses, there are nooks and crannies where you don't see buildings or other boats and get something approaching a wilderness experience. You could fish it for a week or more without getting bored. There's a state park with camping on the lake, and it's only about a 10-mile side trip off Interstate 94. Being in northwestern Minnesota, it's too far from population centers to get heavy fishing pressure. The muskies in Big Mantrap are Shoepacs, which run a little smaller than most muskies. They seem to like black-orange spinnerbaits in this lake; however, I caught that one on a Burmek. If you drive from Seattle to the Upper Midwest for some fishing, Big Mantrap is a logical way stop. It's 1,475 driving miles from Seattle.

[PDXFisher]

I caught my first legal from Big Mantrap Lake. Lovely lake with lots of coves, channels, reed and lily pad beds, underwater humps and other structure.

I spent three days on Mantrap last June. It easily became my favorite lake within the first hour of being on it. I had a fish on that was 50 or over, another one on in the mid 40s. Caught some really nice Northerns on it, too. If I had never fished the Bemidji area lakes, I'd probably just go to Mantrap for a couple weeks. It's starting to get a lot of pressure, now, though. The best spots get hit pretty hard. I got my first legal on Big. Waconia is where we hit a 52" and 54", and very fat at that. Plantagenet has some monsters, too. I've never been on Lake Bemidji, but looking at the contour map has me drooling. I can't wait until June 7th! I'm trying to figure out if I want to hit the Wisconsin opener first in Hayward, then go to Minnesota, or just start in Minnesota and stay there. I've never fished in Wisconsin, so I'm not sure how it compares. I know they consider Muskies more of a put 'n' take there.

It's hard to fish Washington Reservoirs (at least the ones in the West) when you're spoiled by Mantrap, Cass, etc. That said, my trip/fish ratio is about 10x higher in Washington.

[Rollin with Rolland]

man PDX, i guess you do know your way around MN. By the way, those look like some pretty fun photos from canada, after a long day of fighting your arms must have been sore!! (each day!) Sounds like you will have a blast this june on your trip. i may be there as well, i'll look for the boat with WA registration. i have never gotten anything but trout with my flyrod, but i might give this a try. If your going to be in the bemedji/cass lake area, you could do some research on the headwaters of the mississippi. up there it is pretty clear and generally shallower. i know they have 50"ers up there somewhere, maybe around grand rapids, mn?

true musky territory in wisconsin is the north. the famed chippawa flowage, flambeau flowage, eagle river (the town), and the little lakes of vilas county. As far as the wisconsin river goes, it's pretty impounded (damed) for the most part. i think it might be the most damned river in the state! every 50 miles or so it seems like there is a dam. Most of the reservoirs backwaters hold lots of fish. I fished from Wausau to Wisconsin Rapids, and it's pretty good size. If you're not to keen on taking your new boat (nice job on the lund, you'll fit right in) onto an unfamiliar river, i know many of the mid-sized towns the river flows through has pretty open (not to wooded) public parks that you can get some decent access from shore. that's were that fly record was caught, south of Stevens Point, WI below the dam on west river road at one of the public areas from shore.

IMO, mille lacs has the biggest muskie in it right now, but wisconsin is steeped in tradition (the world record). this is just some general knowledge, i'm definitely no expert, as i have just landed my first musky last summer. put 'n' take??? like people keep them or don't really chase them as hard??

[Rollin with Rolland]

Rollin W Roland

I havent fished for tigers yet with my fly rod, but I have done very well at Wollaston Lake lodge in Sask fly fishing for Pike. I use a 10 wt rod and a large arbor Loop reel. I tie my onw hooks which are huge (6-8" long). I have a boat box thats full of Pike flies if you'd like a photo?, but make sure you use a steel leader........ I intend to fish Curlew this spring, and will keep everyone posted. TTFN

Cheers the chironomid guy

Very good info for a beginner like me, thanks chironomid guy....i wouldn't mind seeing some of those flies that were working for you....

[PDXFisher]

i may be there as well, i'll look for the boat with WA registration.

I actually bought it in Minnesota. My GF's family had the 14' boat, he sold it for a few grand and I put in the other seven grand for the Lund a couple weeks ago. Was reading the Minneapolis Craigslist every 10 minutes for a month. I actually wanted a Crestliner Fish Hawk 1750 for my first choice, or Alumacraft Navigator 175 for my second. Lunds don't have a serious rear casting deck like the others. But I will just get a couple Lakewood boxes that double as casting decks and put them at the rear, apparently they're the same height as what little deck there is on the Lund. It will be easy to sell to a Walleye guy if I decide I want to trade up. This is just a really long way of saying it has MN tags on it, and will until I bring it to Oregon, if I do. I spend as much time fishing in MN as I do here, and my father has a boat. I may well buy a second boat for here.

If your going to be in the bemedji/cass lake area, you could do some research on the headwaters of the mississippi. up there it is pretty clear and generally shallower. i know they have 50"ers up there somewhere, maybe around grand rapids, mn?

The most famous stretch for Muskies is from Brainerd to Sartell. But that's about all I know. I've been over the Miss. up there when I was fishing Cass for a few days. Bizarre to be crossing a tiny bridge between two lakes and have the sign say "Mississippi River".

true musky territory in wisconsin is the north. the famed chippawa flowage, flambeau flowage, eagle river (the town), and the little lakes of vilas county.

I may well hit the Chip this time. When I was considering it last year, people were actually directing me to the Holcombe Flowage instead. It's enough to make your head swim when you go to the Wisconsin DNR site and view Muskie lakes by county. So many...Vilas County is nuts in that regard.

IMO, mille lacs has the biggest muskie in it right now, but wisconsin is steeped in tradition (the world record). this is just some general knowledge, i'm definitely no expert, as i have just landed my first musky last summer. put 'n' take??? like people keep them or don't really chase them as hard??

ML definitely has monsters. Luckily, the people of Minnesota are really embracing CPR. The people of Wisconsin, not as much. That's what I mean by the "put n take". They're way more likely to keep them there. I'd say the vast majority of Muskie lakes in Minnesota have 50"+ fish. Waconia is a 4000 acre metro lake, and we caught two there that were about as big as anything I've seen from Mille Lacs, and fatter.

I mean...look at my GF's stepdad (my MN fishing partner) struggle with this one:

[PDXFisher]

The muskies in Big Mantrap are Shoepacs, which run a little smaller than most muskies.

They started stocking Leech Lake strain in 1988. Not sure how many Shoepacs are left.

[Rollin with Rolland]

trophy fish for sure. that's gotta be a once in a lifetime fish! (at least for me, i'm not greedy!) Is it even POSSIBLE to land a fish that big flyfishing?? (i know anythings possible, but really??)